Spanish Style Shrimp Recipes

SPANISH GARLIC SHRIMP (GAMBAS AL AJILLO)

Steps:

• Slice garlic thinly. Season shrimp with kosher salt and paprika. Mix to coat.
• Heat garlic and oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until garlic starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add shrimp and increase heat to high. Toss and turn shrimp with tongs until starting to curl but still undercooked, about 2 minutes. Pour in sherry. Cook, stirring continuously, until sauce comes up to a boil and shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley with a spoon.

SPANISH GRILLED SHRIMP

Steps:

• For the rice:
• In a large saucepan, sweat garlic, shallot and pepper in oil until softened. Add adobo sauce, tomato paste, rice, wine and broth, give a quick stir. Add saffron. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, until rice is cooked. Fold in peas.
• For the Shrimp Marinade:
• Blend in garlic, chipotle peppers, the lime juice, olive oil and cilantro in a food processor or blender. Pour over shrimp. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate for 20 minutes.
• Preheat grill over a medium-high.
• Take shrimp out of marinade and cook on grill for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until done. Fill phyllo shells with rice mixture, top with grilled shrimp. Garnish with chives.
• For the Dipping Sauce:
• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly and enjoy

SPANISH SHRIMP AND RICE

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and turmeric and cook until the onion is slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato, carrot and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to turn pink, about 1 minute. Add the rice, 2 cups water and 1/2 tablespoon parsley; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the peas and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon parsley. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff the rice mixture with a fork and incorporate the peas and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with hot sauce.
• Photograph by Christopher Testani

SPANISH SHRIMP

Steps:

• Preheat the grill over high heat.
• In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, shallots, cumin, paprika, about 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.
• Add the shrimp and stir to coat the shrimp thoroughly.
• Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
• Using a small grate grill rack, grill the shrimp for about 1-2 minutes per side or until pink and just cooked through.
• (If you don't have a small grill rack you can also thread the shrimp on skewers to prevent them from falling through your rack.) Remove from the grill and garnish with cilantro and parsley.
• Squeeze lemon juice over the top of the shrimp and serve.

SPANISH-STYLE SHRIMP WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Sprinkle the shrimp with salt, toss and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy nonstick frying pan, and add the garlic, bay leaf and chile. Cook, stirring, until the garlic begins to color, about one minute. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the shrimp. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp turn pink and are cooked through, two to three minutes. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

SHRIMP IN GARLIC SAUCE, SPANISH STYLE

Steps:

• About ½ hour before cooking, season shrimp well with salt.
• Place shrimp on paper towels; let rest.
• When ready to cook, add olive oil to a large sauté pan over med-high heat.
• Add in garlic and dried chili pepper pieces; sauté 2 minutes and make sure the garlic doesn't brown.
• Dry the shrimp well; add them to the hot oil and turn them quickly to coat with the oil.
• Cook, tossing, until the shrimp are just done-no more than 2 minutes.
• As the shrimp finish cooking, sprinkle with the paprika and parsley; stir to blend well.
• Remove from heat; add salt to taste.
• Divide among 4 appetizer plates and serve immediately with good bread for sopping up the oil.

SPANISH-STYLE SHRIMP

Steps:

• Combine the oil and garlic in a 10- or 12-inch skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle, then add the cumin and paprika. Stir, raise the heat to medium-high, and add the shrimp, along with some salt and pepper.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are all pink, no longer; you do not want to evaporate their liquid. Turn off the heat, add the parsley, and serve.
• VARIATIONS
• Omit the cumin and paprika; use cayenne in place of black pepper. When the shrimp are cooked, stir in 2 or more tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
• Substitute peanut or vegetable oil for the olive oil and cook 1 tablespoon chopped peeled fresh ginger and 2 or 3 small dried red chiles (or to taste) along with the garlic; omit the cumin and paprika. When the shrimp are done, stir in 1 tablespoon soy sauce; garnish with minced scallion or fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
• Almost all shrimp are frozen before sale. So unless you're in a hurry, you might as well buy them frozen and defrost them yourself; this will guarantee you that they are defrosted just before you cook them, therefore retaining peak quality.
• There are no universal standards for shrimp size; large and medium don't mean much. Therefore, it pays to learn to judge shrimp size by the number per pound, as retailers do. Shrimp labeled 16/20, for example, contain sixteen to twenty per pound; those labeled U-20 require fewer (under) twenty to make a pound. Shrimp from fifteen to about thirty per pound usually give the best combination of flavor, ease (peeling tiny shrimp is a nuisance), and value (really big shrimp usually cost more than $15 a pound).
• On deveining: I don't. You can, if you like, but it's a thankless task, and there isn't one person in a hundred who could blind-taste the difference between shrimp that have and have not been deveined.